MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"...that's what I think of when I think of Christmas!! I love seeing all the lights & decorations on everyone's homes; I love all the wonderful music @ this time of year; and most of all, I love celebrating the birth of our Savior with my family all around...it truly is the most WONDERFUL time of the year!! I love giving gifts to people & seeing the expression on their face and I love all the DELICIOUS foods we have @ this time of year...I love CHRISTmas & remembering that CHRIST is the reason for all our celebrating. I hope all of you will have a wonderful CHRISTmas & a very happy, healthy 2011!!

Down to 1 chicken

It has been almost 3 weeks & I am happy to say that it has been MUCH quieter in the mornings since I gave back our rooster ~ it started crowing VERY early in the morning, the day that the hen was going to lay her 1st egg...& it continued crowing EVERY morning & sometimes @ other times of the day...to the point where I just couldn't take it any more. I called the former owners & they were more than happy to come & get the rooster & they apologized for the fact that it was a rooster instead of a hen ~ I was worried that the remaining chicken would be lonely, as they are socialable animals, but she seems okay & has continued laying eggs and is doing well. I know that our neighbors are happy we got rid of the rooster...now if only we could get the neighbors' dogs to stop barking when ever I go outside to feed the chicken, it would be "all good" again!

We have chickens, again!!

Today at work we had 2 very nice patients bring us lunch...delicious sandwiches, fruit, chips and home-made guacamole and soda. We were talking about how they have chickens and I told them about how we used to have chickens until 3 years ago when we had to get rid of them because we couldn't find anyone to take care of them while we were going out of town. We were sharing stories about our chickens and they said they'd like us to see some of their chickens, and they offered to bring some over to the office to show us. We told them they didn't have to go all the way home and then come all the way back, and then they left so we could see patients this afternoon. About 10 minutes to 5 this afternoon, they called & left a voice mail message saying they would be over in just a few minutes with some chickens. They showed up just a couple of minutes later, with a box holding 2 baby chickens and one of them was holding another baby chicken. Then as they were opening up the box, they said "these 2 are for you, Debbie"...I was shocked and delighted! They are a breed called Silkies, and they have LOTS of soft, fluffy feathers on their heads, bodies, & feet...and they are very gentle & calm. One is black and red, and the other is white and gray...after thanking them profusely & putting them in my car, I drove the chickens home & announced to Everton "come & see what's in my car"...he was surprised! I let the chickens wander around in our back yard for about an hour while I tried to get rid of all the dead weeds & plants that were thriving inside the chicken coop, and then put the chickens inside their new home & watched to see what they would do. They looked all around, pecked at some of the plants inside the cage, and eventually the black one went inside the little hen house, and the other one hopped up on top of the hen house, then hopped up onto a perch, and then flew down to the ground & ended up sitting on a perch in the corner of the coop. Tomorrow I will buy them chicken feed, a feed container, and a water container & enjoy watching them & coming up with a name for each of them. I'm thinking of naming them: Salt & Pepper or...Bordeaux & Eclair...what do you think?!

Priorities

I've been thinking about my priorities lately. When I was a kid, I only thought of my own happiness and what I wanted to do each day. When I was a teen-ager, I wanted to be popular, and to be liked by everybody, which didn't happen, but my priorities were to be friends with as many people as possible, and that's all that mattered. When I was in high school I FINALLY realized that being liked by everybody was impossible, so I was happy having a few really good friends, and I dated a few different guys, and tried to find out what kind of person I was turning into. In college I had a full-time job and I took classes that interested me, which changed from semester to semester until I went to BYU and decided to major in child development and family relations. That's when my priorities changed once again, and I had some good friends, great classes I was taking, and I found out that I missed my parents & siblings! I lived at home for a little over a year, had a full-time job, bought a V.W. bug (my 1st car!!), and almost got married...'til I realized that the guy didn't have me as a priority...so we broke up and I dated other people and ended up dating my college boyfriend a 2nd time and we ended up getting married. He had many of the qualities that I wanted in a husband & I was a priority in his life and he became a priority in my life. Being married for 30 years, my priorities have continued to change over the years, when we started a family, the children came 1st often times, then as they got older, my husband became a priority once again, and now that our kids have all married & or moved out, my job and husband and grand-daughters have become the priorities in my life. I also enjoy my new car, going to Disneyland, volunteering at the temple, and working in the nursery at church, and spending time with our children & my extended family. The one priority that has NEVER changed in my life is I have always put our Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ FIRST, and all else has followed. I'm pretty happy with my priorities at the moment!!

Update...finally!!

Once again I have neglected to update my blog...but I have been enjoying life and have read alot of other people's blogs, and was finally motivated to blog again, after reading so many others! I am happy to announce that our son, Allen & his long-time girlfriend, Candace were married in a ceremony performed @ the Ventura Court House on Friday March 5th, 2010. We got to meet Candace's parents & some of her siblings and all of us were there as well (Everton & I, Jen & Shaun and their twins Hailey & Brooke, Mike, and Lis & Adam)...it was a short, sweet ceremony. I think it was VERY funny when the judge asked Allen to repeat after her, and then she said "I, Allen, take you Candace to be my lawfully wedded wife..."as he started to repeat it, got to the part where he was supposed to say "take you to be my lawfully wedded wife" and he said "take you to be my...wait, what?!" (he was VERY nervous!)...but after we all laughed, he repeated it correctly and they were officially married. There were LOTS of tears, hugs, & photos...then we went to Peking Inn for a celebration lunch & Grandma and Grandpa Vargas, Cindy & Johnny, Chris and Ty all met us there...there were about 2 dozen people...we had an AWESOME lunch! After lunch, the newlyweds wanted to go ice skating, so some of us went to the Oxnard Ice Skating Rink & I watched them skate...it was fun just hanging out & visiting & watching them! Then we went back home, and Al & Candace met us @ our house and we took them to Pop's Soda Pop & Candy Shop for some soda & candy, then we treated them to dinner @ Me n Ed's Pizza ~ it was a GREAT day!! We welcome Candace to the Freitas family!! In April, I got to drive
up to Utah with my friend Nancy Jenkins, and met my sister Lori & my niece Becca and hung out with them for a couple of days in Provo, while Becca took finals & checked out of her dorm. Then Nancy, her daughter Jocelyn, and I drove back to Cedar City & stayed @ their friends' home a couple of nights & we got to hear Sherri Dew speak @ a Regional mtg. before we drove back to Camarillo ~ we had a FUN, "girls week" & I loved spending time with Lori & Becca and had a blast with Nancy & the girls too! On April 26th, Everton & I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary ~ hard to believe I've been married longer than I've been single! It has been an AWESOME experience being married to my best friend & even though we've had our ups & downs, I can honestly say I'd do it all over again ~ and look forward to hopefully many, many more years together! On April 29th I got to volunteer @ R.A.M.L.A. @ the L.A. Sports Arena. It's a FREE medical clinic that is done in various inner-cities and remote areas, all over the world, and thousands of people are seen & treated (for free) by volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses, and optometrists ~ in the area where I was working all day, we saw over 470 patients, it was incredible!! I felt sooo happy to be able to help so many people all in one day! I definitely want to volunteer again next year - it was sooo worth while! The doctor that I work for, and his nurse practitioner wife, and 1 of their sons + 2 of my co-workers & myself all met @ work at 4:30 a.m. and we car-pooled down to the convention ctr., where we started our "shift" at 5:30 a.m. and we worked 'til 6 p.m. ~ it was an EXTREMELY loooooong day, but worth the lack of sleep, for sure! I'm so glad I went!! Our grand-daughters are almost 9 nonths old, and are doing all kinds of cute & adorable things! Brooke has already learned to go from her tummy to sitting, to pulling herself up & standing, & she LOVES to have us hold her hands and let her "walk" all around. Hailey has learned to roll over and likes "talking" and is learning to sit up by herself. She has tight muscles in her neck, and needs to do "stretches" and have LOTS of tummy time, to strengthen her muscles, and she loves to eat!! They continue to bring so much joy and happiness into our lives, and I am so thankful they live close by and I get to see them every week!! I love being a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and grandma!!

Special events of 2009

I've been thinking about many things that happened in 2009 and I just want to review them:

Lis & Adam got married in January. We found out we'd be grand-parents for the first time in January. Mike & Sara got married in February. We found out Jen & Shaun were expecting TWINS in February!! We celebrated our 29th anniversary in April. We bought my new car in July. Hailey & Brooke McFadden (our twin grand-daughters) were born on August 18th. I went to Disneyland for free on my birthday in September & bought an annual pass. Al & Candace got engaged in November. Everton's company moved to Oklahoma in late December, but he's been able to work from home. I'm working 3 full days as a medical assistant & the other 1 1/2 days as a receptionist and have been @ my job for almost 6 years. We've had a GREAT year and are looking forward to many more exciting events for 2010! We have been blessed ABUNDANTLY & are GRATEFUL to our Heavenly Father for His goodness and tender mercies to our family!!

2010 Toyota Corolla recall - WHAT??!!

I have been the PROUD owner of a 2010 Toyota Corolla for 6 months now and have enjoyed the ride so far...until I read the news last night that Toyota has stopped sales on several models, including the Corolla, for a faulty gas pedal defect - apparently the gas pedal gets stuck while accelerating & has caused several FATAL accidents - WHAT??!! I was just bragging to my husband the other night about how it's been 6 months since we bought my new car, and how I LOVE IT, and it's sooo much fun to drive, and it's SOOO pretty, and I've never had any problems with it, and it's the BEST car I've ever owned, and it gets GREAT gas mileage...etc, etc, etc...I guess I spoke (& BRAGGED!!) too soon!! : ( We called the salesman @ Toyota who sold us our car, but he wasn't there - 'cause we want to know what we're supposed to do to get the problem fixed! So far, Toyota hasn't decided what to do yet, & they say they purchase their gas pedals from a certain manufacturer and haven't been able to resolve the problem yet. So...I am now driving more carefully, and my husband instructed me on how to SAFELY put on my brakes & turn OFF the ignition, IF the accelerator sticks, or IF the car lurches forward while I have my foot on the brake. GREAT! So until we hear more from Toyota, I'm CAUTIOUSLY driving to & from work & will still drive to the temple on Sat., where I volunteer on the 1st & 5th Sat. of each month - and I'll probably drive down to Disneyland this Friday, so I can use my annual pass this month. Hopefully NOTHING bad will happen!!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!

I'm FINALLY getting back to my blog, after NOT writing anything for almost 4 months! I have spent as much time as possible with my new grand-daughters, Hailey Dawn McFadden & Brooke Emma McFadden. They were born on Tuesday ~ August 18, 2009 @ Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, CA. Hailey was born @ 1:30 p.m. and weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz. & Brooke was born @ 1:32 p.m. and weighed 5 lbs. 2 oz. They spent about 1 hour in the N.I.C.U. (new-born intensive care unit) and then after getting fed, weighed, measured, & all cleaned up, they got to go into Jens' room & everyone got to visit with them & hold them and take TONS of pictures of them. To say that it was an AMAZING experience is putting it MILDLY!! I felt so much joy and love for them, the 1st time seeing them and holding them, and it has continued to grow more every day ~ I absolutely ADORE them and cherish every minute I am with them, and I enjoy every little thing that they do...I could sit & hold them and do NOTHING else...all day & night!! They are such a JOY in my life & I can't imagine life without them, even though they're only 3 1/2 months old, it feels like I've known them & loved them forever!! I'm so grateful that our Heavenly Father has allowed these 2 PRECIOUS girls to be born into our family!! Jen and Shaun are AMAZING parents ~ they are a WONDERFUL mommy & daddy for Hailey and Brooke...what a SWEET family!! I have tons of pictures on my facebook page, so please look at that for their CUTE photos. I LOVE BEING A GRANDMA!!

TODAY'S THE DAY...I'LL BE A GRANDMA!!

I haven't blogged in a few months, but wanted to say just a few words today, as it is the 1st time in my life I'll be able to say I'M A GRANDMA!! Jen & Shaun will be going to Los Robles Hospital, in Thousand Oaks today at 11 a.m. and Jen will get ready for her C-section, which is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. From what I hear, the C-section only takes a few minutes, so by approx. 1:30 p.m. HAILEY and BROOKE should be here!! Lis, Adam, Allen & Candace are meeting @ our home this morning, so we can all drive up to the hospital to wait for the babies to arrive - we are VERY excited to see them, hold them & love them!! Our thoughts & prayers are with Jen, Shaun, and the doctor/s & nurses who will deliver the babies - we are REALLY looking forward to having HAILEY and BROOKE in our family - we feel blessed!!

OUR 29TH ANNIVERSARY

Today, April 26th, 2009 is mine and Evertons' 29th anniversary! We were 20-something when we got married, and have had 4 kids, several different jobs, and lived in 4 different homes in the last 29 years. We've also had 3 of our 4 kids get married, and have welcomed 2 son-in-laws and 1 daughter-in-law into our family circle. And we are going to be grandparents (to twins!!) for our first time, in just a few months. Life is good, and we have truly been blessed over the years, as we have lived, loved, and laughed our way through many difficult, challenging, and very rewarding experiences. I am so thankful to be a wife and a mother! "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!" I have MANY moments that have taken my breath away, and look forward to MANY more!!

CONFERENCE WEEKEND

This has been such a WONDERFUL weekend! It was our semi-annual church conference yesterday and today and I've had the opportunity to hear all 4 sessions of conference and to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL music and hear uplifting, inspiring, and motivitating talks given by our church leaders. We are so blessed to live in a time where we can just sit in the comfort of our home and watch & listen to conference on our computer... I feel like I want to become a better person by being more kind and patient with all those that I come in contact with, and I want to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ, and be more loving and accepting of others. We also had the opportunity to sustain the newest Apostle, Elder Anderson, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and to hear him speak this morning. I testify that he, along with the other 11 Apostles, and the 3 members of the First Presidency are truly Prophets, Seers, and Revelators. I know they receive revelation from our Heavenly Father and that they are a "Special Witness" of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who stands at the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know these things are true, because the Holy Ghost has testified of these things to me, through His Spirit. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, and that through repentance and forgiveness, we can become like Him, and return to live with our Heavenly parents and our loved ones, forever. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father by following its' teachings, than by reading any other book. I also know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that he translated the golden plates, through inspiration, to become the Book of Mormon. I feel very blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and to have listened to conference this weekend!

IT'S A GIRL!! IT'S A GIRL!!

I had the most amazing day today! I got to meet our daughter Jen and her husband Shaun at their OB/GYN's office, so Jen could have her 17 week appointment & ultrasound. After waiting for more than an hour (the doctor was delivering a baby), then Jen & Shaun were FINALLY called in, and after they met privately with the doctor, Shaun invited me to their room, where Jen was all ready to have the ultrasound. After looking at the babies profiles, and measuring their heads & length and checking out their body parts...The doctor said that he is 98% sure that "Baby A" is..... A GIRL!!!, and 90% sure that "Baby B" is....A GIRL also!! It was AMAZING how much detail there was...nothing like the one's I had more than 20 years ago, when I was pregnant with my youngest 2 children!! "Baby A" was sucking her left thumb and looked like she was giving a "high 5" with her right hand. "Baby B" looked like she was sleeping and didn't look at the camera, but her profile was awesome! Once again I feel like crying, laughing, and celebrating all at once - the babies' heart beats looked very good, and they're just the right size...so we'll have to see what the future brings, and if the doctor changes his mind about the sex of 1 or both of the babies. For now, they're healthy and growing and that's the best news we received!!

WHAT'S NEW?!!

It has taken me awhile to blog, and I've got lots to tell! The first and most important thing is that besides the fact that we're going to be grandparents for our first time - Jen came over on Valentine's day & showed us her ultrasound DVD and she's expecting TWINS!! She also gave us a beautiful frame with the 2 babies individual photos and a photo of them together. The frame says: "A family just isn't complete WITHOUT grandparents". I was completely shocked, delighted, overwhelmed, laughing & crying at the same time, when I watched the ultrasound and realized there were 2 babies - what a blessing & miracle!! Jen & Shaun have known all along that they were having twins, but were advised by the fertility doctor that until the 10 week mark, one of the babies may "drop away" or get "reabsorbed" (a strange phenomenom!) so they decided to wait & tell us until after that time - we are soooo happy & excited about this good news and are so thankful for the sacrifices Jen & Shaun have made and for their willingness to go through so much, as far as tests, procedures, fertility treatments, and time and money, so they can have children - and we give praise to Heavenly Father for these sweet babies that will be a part of our family in just a few months...we have truly been blessed!! Another thing that's happened over the past couple of weeks is that I've been exercising more regularly and eating less chocolate (SHOCK!!), and have lost 2 lbs. so far - I'm trying to learn from watching "America's Biggest Loser" and hoping to continue eating better, exercising more, and feeling better...and losing weight!

STAYING HOME - SICK!!

Today I had to stay home from work because I couldn't stop coughing & my head was pounding and I am EXHAUSTED, despite taking a good cough medicine, headache medicine, and getting plenty of sleep last night - FRUSTRATING!! I know because I work in a doctors' office, that I come in contact with a LOT of germs & illnesses every day, but I rarely get sick because I'm constantly washing my hands with soap & water, exercising regularly, trying to eat right, and getting enough sleep - but this time that wasn't enough & I got the "bug". I will say that the doctor that I work for has NEVER called in sick since he's been a doctor (over 16 years), but he did call in sick this past Monday and Tuesday - so I guess it's going around, and it's my turn to have it. I'm trying to take it easy today, drinking lots of water & just not doing too much...we'll see if I'm better by tomorrow - which I hope I am, because it's our annual Cub Scout Blue 'N Gold banquet tomorrow night & I want to be there with all my 8 year-old cub scouts and their families to enjoy a delicious dinner, fun games, and to watch them receive their awards. Wish me luck!

MIKE AND SARA FREITAS

Saturday, February 7th, 2009 - Mike & Sara were married @ the Wedgewood Wedding & Banquet Center in Ventura. It was a rainy day & the marriage was inside, and was performed by Sara's Papa ~ (grandpa). It was a beautiful ceremony and there were so many friends and family members there ~ and what a FUN reception!! Even grandma and grandpa Vargas were out on the floor - fast dancing!! I was happy that my daughter Jen, son-in-law Shaun, daughter Lis, son-in-law Adam, son Allen & friend Candace, mom, dad, sister Cindy, brother Greg, sister-in-law Christine, nephews Chris, Ty, and Erik were all there from my side of the family and Evertons' sister, Eliana, brother-in-law Lou, nephew Brian, nephew Adriano, great-neice Tabitha, Roberta & Laura were all there too. The dinner was fantastic, music was fabulous, and the flowers and tables were gorgeous! I think the best part of the evening was getting to dance a special mother-son dance with Mike, and when mine & Evertons' entire family were all out dancing together on the dance floor, with Mike and Sara. I have NEVER seen my parents fast-dance, and it was sooo much fun being all-together & celebrating Mike & Saras' wedding!! Welcome to the Freitas family, Sara!!

CHANGES ARE GOOD!!

I have been thinking about all the changes that have gone on in the past few weeks. First change: Lis and Adam got married and now live in my in-laws old house. Second change: Jennifer and Shaun are expecting their 1st child in September and Everton & I will be grandparents for the first time! Third change: Mike and Sara are getting married this Saturday, Feb. 7th, and we will be in-laws for the 3rd time in our lives. All these changes are good - and I am happy about what's happening in our lives right now. I know that sometimes change can be unexpected, and even unwanted, but I think these changes are all wonderful and we are just going through many different experiences right now, and we're learning to adapt and hopefully grow while we change. Without changes in our lives, I think we wouldn't be able to learn or to grow, and we would be bored (or boring!) I am thankful for the opportunities that have come our way so far this year, to grow and expand our horizons...these are changes for the better!

SISTER BECK & HANGIN' OUT WITH MY MOM

This afternoon was our multi-stake women's conference. Sister Julie Beck, Relief Society general president was our speaker. I had the priviledge of hearing her speak at BYU women's conference last spring and was really looking forward to hearing her again! My mom & her visiting teacher drove out together from Canoga Park and got to the stake center early to save seats. I went by myself because Jen had a birthday party to go to and Lis had to work. I was glad to be able to sit with my mom and to have great seats - it was VERY crowded and hard to find a parking spot, but I knew it would be worth it and I was right! Sister Beck shared her testimony and then invited 3-4 sisters to ask a question. She was able to answer all the questions, using scriptures and quotes from prophets and by sharing experiences from her own life - she is an amazing, funny, and spiritual woman and I'm so thankful that I was able to be there today! There was a women's choir and violinist that sang and played beautiful music and the meeting was much-enjoyed by all in attendance! After the conference we went to Soup Plantation for a delicious dinner - what a wonderful afternoon and evening!

CELEBRATION!

Last night we had fun celebrating our son, Mikes', 26th birthday! We all met at Mimi's Cafe in Ventura and enjoyed a delicious meal together. Everton and I felt blessed to be able to be with all of our children and their spouses (or loves). What a wonderful evening, laughing and eating...we had a great time together! After dinner we came back to our house (everyone except for Mike and Sara) and we ate dessert & played the game Apples to Apples. Shaun had never played the game before, and ended up winning - "beginner's luck" we all said~ we stayed up late, just visiting and laughing until everyone went home - it was a great night!

GRANDMA FREITAS!!!!!!!!

Last night Everton and I were having dinner @ Adriano's home (he's our nephew), and we were visiting with Edson & Maria (Everton's brother & sis.-in-law) who are visiting from Idaho. My cell phone rang, & by the time I got to it, I had 2 missed calls from my daughter, Jen. I said "Wow! Jen called twice, I hope there's not an emergency or anything!", so I tried to call her back, but couldn't talk to her directly, I had to leave a message on her voice mail. I sat back down to eat some more dinner, then my cell phone rang again, & I ran to get it (I had forgotten to bring it to the dinner table with me), and when I answered, it was Jen & Shaun. They said "Hi mom, it's Jen and Shaun, can we talk to Grandma Freitas?" I said "Grandma Freitas?? She didn't come down here with Maria & Edson, she's still in Idaho." Then they asked again "can we talk to GRANDMA Freitas?", and I suddenly realized... I said "DO YOU MEAN ME???!!!" And then I burst into tears & started laughing & crying all at once!! I said "Are you pregnant??!!" , and they both confirmed that YES, Jennifer is approximately 7 weeks pregnant & they had an ultrasound yesterday to confirm it. They said they had known since January 1st, but didn't want to say anything until they had the ultrasound done. They wanted to tell us in person, but after the ultrasound, they decided to call everybody...and they had to wait for a day that Shaun was off from work, to get the ultrasound & to let everybody know the FANTASTIC news!! This is an answer to prayer - Jen & Shaun have been going through some infertility problems, and have been having infertility treatments for about 2 years - so this is a miracle that they're expecting & I am ECSTATIC that I'll be GRANDMA FREITAS in about 7 months!!!! After wiping my tears, and letting them know how HAPPY I am - they asked to talk to GRANDPA FREITAS (Everton) and I said "I can't wait to let everybody know!!" and then I said, "but I'll let you guys tell everyone, I'll keep my mouth shut!", then after they talked to Everton, they told him to tell me it was o.k. to blog about it today - so here I am!!! I have a quote that sums up my feelings very well: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!" I feel soooo blessed and soooo happy right now!!

A REVIEW OF THE WEDDING WEEKEND

We have had a good week, recovering from the wedding day and giving away LOTS of left-overs: Wood Ranch chicken, mashed potatoes, & rolls; veggies, fruits, flowers, and wedding cake...I think we're FINALLY down to one more layer of cake, some mashed potatoes, some veggies, and a few more flowers - we definitely had more than enough, but at least we didn't run out @ the reception!! The family lunch @ Soup Plantation was lots of fun, and we all got to sit together, which was nice! There were about 20 - 25 people there!! We enjoyed spending time together & enjoying each others' company, before heading over to the reception. The reception was very well-attended, over 125 people came & seemed to enjoy the atmosphere, & the fabulous music provided by our son, Mike - it was so cool that all of Lis' siblings participated in the wedding day: Jennifer bought all the flowers and made the arrangements, bouquets, corsages, and boutinneres; Mike was our D.J.; and Allen was one of the groomsmen. We couldn't have decorated with out all the WONDERFUL items that Evertons' sister, Eliana, loaned to us!! Except for the lights (we bought 3,600 white Christmas lights) and table decor, she & her husband, Lou, provided EVERYTHING else!! We are so thankful to them, for their generosity in loaning us everything & helping us set up and take down all of it!! I am also very much appreciative to my visiting teachers, Kathy Berks & Kathy Flannagan who took on the responsibility of setting up & serving all the food and drinks, and assigning many "helpers" that also kept things going smoothly all night!! I am thankful to Shae Law, who volunteered to pick up the wedding cake and deliver it to the church - what a scary & fun trip, I'm sure!! The evening was so fun and several people commented on the beautiful decor, and the relaxing atmosphere - it didn't feel like we were in Camarillo any more!! Our photographer, Ari Lewis, was absolutely incredible & had already taken several hundred photos @ the temple, before the reception started!! When Adam tossed the garter, our son Allen caught it & when Lis tossed the bouquet, Allens' friend Candace caught it - fun, fun!! We lined up in 2 lines and let Adam & Lis run through while we showered them with flower petals and then they left for their honeymoon hotel - "somewhere in Camarillo". All of Lis and Adams' family and some friends stayed after the reception to help take down & put away everything - it was amazing that what took 2 days and 2 nights to put up, all came down within an hour and a half!! On Sunday, Lis called to say they were home from the hotel, and asked if they could come over to start moving her things to their home. They also took LOTS of left-overs, and got to eat with Adams' family, and open some gifts & cards, before Adams' family had to head back home to Utah. We all went over to Lis and Adams' (Everton and I, Jen, Mike, Sara, Allen and Candace) & watched them open the rest of their gifts, and then we all came over to our house, so Lis and Adam could leave for their honeymoon hotel in Long Beach, before leaving on their cruise Monday morning - it was a wonderful couple of days!! It was hard getting up on Monday morning & going back to work!!